Hand-held spray guns have long been used for spraying liquids in various commercial operations. Such spray guns typically employ a pivotable trigger to actuate a valve assembly for controlling the discharge of liquid from the gun and must be manufactured with sufficient massiveness and durability to withstand the high pressure liquids that are dispensed, as well as the rigors of commercial and industrial usage. Moreover, because such spray guns often have a barrel portion with a depending or angled handle, the trigger operated valve mechanism frequently is relatively complex and expensive to manufacture. As a result, many such spray guns have been bulky and expensive in construction, have been cumbersome to handle and difficult to operate, and have not lent themselves to easy repair or cleaning as may be routinely necessary. Indeed, in many such spray guns, the valve assembly is located centrally within the housing of the gun, and in order to obtain access to the valve assembly, substantial disassembly of the gun is necessary. The body of the valve assembly also often must be formed with a multiplicity of bores disposed at acute angles to each other, which is costly to manufacture.